By Paul Vangos –
This Sunday, the Buffalo Bills traveled from Western New York to the rechristened Reliant Stadium in Houston for a battle against the Texans. This Week 1 matchup was fought between two postseason winners from last year who are vying for Super Bowl contention in 2026.
Buffalo went 11-6 last year, defeating Jacksonville in the Wild Card before falling to Denver at Mile High. After another playoff failure in the Josh Allen era, Head Coach Sean McDermott was fired, and replaced by Offensive Coordinator Joe Brady. Meanwhile, Houston retained their generational defense headlined by Will Anderson Jr. and Derek Stingley Jr that led them to a Divisional Round loss against New England in January. Much speculation is on Quarterback C.J. Stroud after a poor postseason performance, and his play this year could determine the contract he signs next offseason.
Buffalo received the opening kick-off, and went right to work. After 6 plays, they drove to the Houston 34 yard-line, but faced a 4th and 1. Allen tried to get the first down himself, but was stuffed, leading to a turnover on downs. However, on the Texans’ next drive, Bills linebacker Greg Rousseau strip-sacked Stroud, which was recovered by Buffalo; they would cash in on a Tyler Bass 46-yard field goal.
From here, the track meet commenced. Houston rebounded on their next drive, marching down the field in 12 plays, and capped the drive off with a David Montgomery touchdown run. Josh Allen struck right back with a rushing touchdown of his own, making the score 10-7 Bills. Again, Houston responded in the form of a Montgomery touchdown, but with Josh Allen humming along to “Anything you can do, I can do better,” the Bills struck back to take a 17-14 lead.
Just before half, the Texans punted after going three-and-out. With just over 2 minutes on the clock, it took Josh Allen all of three plays to go 96 yards, highlighted by a 43-yard TD throw to DJ Moore, who had been acquired from Chicago in the spring. However, the Texans weren’t done just yet. They drove 86 yards in 63 seconds to score a touchdown of their own, with Nico Collins reaching the end zone to end the half with a 24-21 Bills lead.
The Third Quarter was dominated by defense and punting. Neither side could make much progress offensively, and the only scoring came in the form of a Tyler Bass 34-yard field goal. However, as the four fingers went up on both sidelines to signal the start of the 4th, Houston was putting together a methodical drive in search of a lead.
The Texans would succeed in their goal by hitting paydirt with a C.J. Stroud toss to Montgomery after 13 plays. On the next drive, the Bills reclaimed their lead on Bass’ third kick of the game, but Houston struck back with a clutch 58-yard field goal from Ka’imi Fairbairn, making it a 31-30 game with 6:44 to play.
On the next Bills drive, Josh Allen fumbled- but recovered- on first down, then threw two straight incompletions, which led to a punt. Houston, with a chance to salt the game away, also went three-and-out on their next possession, punting back to the Bills, and giving Josh Allen an opportunity to win the game.
Having to go the length of the field with 3:13 to play, running back James Cook nearly fumbled the game away, but Buffalo recovered to keep the game alive. They drove to the Houston 34, where they faced a 3rd and 11 with time winding down. With pressure in his face, Josh Allen rifled a pass across the middle, threading the needle between Houston defenders, and found Joshua Palmer for a dramatic go-ahead score. Though they failed on the 2-point conversion, Buffalo held a 5-point lead with under 100 seconds left.
The Texans made a furious drive down the field in an attempt to steal the game, penetrating as deep as the Buffalo nine yard-line. However, Stroud was sacked on 1st and Goal, pushing the Texans back. On 3rd and Goal, Stroud saw deja vu; just like the 1st Quarter, he was strip-sacked by Greg Rousseau, and the Bills recovered the loose ball, sealing a 36-31 victory.
Buffalo started the Joe Brady era with a thrilling victory, but now they will need to regroup and prepare for a short week; the Lions come to town this Thursday, where the new Highmark Stadium in Buffalo will officially open. Meanwhile, the Texans will have to lick their wounds and dig in for another tough matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals next Sunday, still in Houston. Stay tuned for more Buffalo Bills action this season right here on NewsTalk!